by Park Saenal
[The divine power of Lua’s Blessing has temporarily disappeared.]
[The durability of Lua’s Blessing has decreased by 27.]
[The attack power of Lua’s Blessing has dropped by 50% for 20 seconds.]
Was it a skill? Or was it a curse that dwelled in the sword itself? Eat Spicy Jokbal’s eyes shook every time he blocked Agnus’ sword as he confirmed that Lua’s Blessing had lost its strength. Agnus’ voice echoed in the dungeon, “You have a divine sword to punish the villain?”
This was Agnus declaring that he was prepared for divine weapons. Eat Spicy Jokbal’s temporarily weakened sword pierced Agnus’ abdomen, while Agnus’ heavy sword tore at Eat Spicy Jokbal’s shoulder. Although Eat Spicy Jokbal seemed to suffer a superficial injury, they actually suffered a similar amount of damage.
The power of the Supreme Ruler, which was imprinted on the rune, and the Sword Mastery skill weren’t enough to overcome the base difference in stats. After all, Dungeon Maker was about hard labor! Eat Spicy Jokbal’s strength and stamina were high like Grid’s stats. Therefore, his attack power was still strong despite his weapon being weakened. The set of divine armor also played a firm role.
The problem was that Agnus wasn’t alone.
“…!” Eat Spicy Jokbal got goosebumps and looked behind him, ignoring Agnus’ blow. A death knight was moving. In order to prepare for the attack of the death knight who was raising a sword with a purple aura, Eat Spicy Jokbal was beaten by Agnus’ continuous strikes and saw a painful notification window.
[Soseosan’s Mithril Armor has received a demon’s curse.]
[Soseosan’s Mithril Leggings has received a demon’s curse.]
[The divine power of Soseosan’s Mithril Armor has temporarily disappeared.]
[The divine power of Soseosan’s Mithril Leggings…]
[The durability of the Soseosan’s Mithril Armor has decreased by 47.]
[The durability of Soseosan’s Mithril Leggings…]
[The defense of the Soseosan’s Mithril Armor has decreased by 20% for 20 seconds.]
[The defense of Soseosan’s Mithril Leggings…]
“What?!”
To think that the curse could enter armor as well as weapons…? The death knight’s sword fell toward Eat Spicy Jokbal’s head.
“Kuk!”
The explosion caused by Eat Spicy Jokbal’s sword colliding with the death knight’s sword caused the dungeon to shake. Agnus and the death knight seized this winning chance and proceeded to bombard Eat Spicy Jokbal without stopping. The swords that kept pouring toward Eat Spicy Jokbal exhausted his health at a rapid pace. He tried to counterattack, but the debuffs, which had a low chance of activating, made him feel even more helpless.
“Uncle!”
This was the uncle who had raised Elizabeth on behalf of her grandparents and parents. She treated him as a friend but he was a person she looked up to from deep inside her heart. Elizabeth didn’t want to see her uncle, who was always steadfast, in such a helpless state. It might be a game, but her uncle’s pained expression caused her heart to ache. The most serious problem was the terrible death penalty.
In the end, Elizabeth shouted, “I understand! I’ll accept your request, so leave Uncle alone!”
Agnus paused at this, and Eat Spicy Jokbal took advantage of the gap.
“Looking away from me during a fight is bad because I am a coward!”
“…?”
Something unexpected started to occur. The dungeon shook like it was hit by an earthquake, and its structure started to change. Some floors floated up while some of the ceiling rotated around and around, and the walls changed their position. This was the Dungeon Remodeling skill that Eat Spicy Jokbal received when he reached level 325.
[Dungeon Remodeling Lv. 1]
[Temporarily change the internal structure of a dungeon that you created. The structure change is random, and all objects in the dungeon won’t be able to resist the ‘confused’ or ‘isolated’ state. The caster himself can’t avoid this effect.
* Locations set as critical points will be preserved and won’t be affected by the remodeling.
* The changed dungeon can be restored to its normal structure at any time.
Skill Mana consumption: 20% of the current mana.
Skill Cooldown Time: 6 hours.]
It was a skill that put even the caster in a crisis. There were too many variables, but it was worth trying out in the midst of a crisis.
“U-Uncle! Diz…zy…”
“Kuk…!”
Agnus’, Eat Spicy Jokbal’s, and Elizabeth’s sight became blurred. Although Agnus’ resistance as a legendary class was an unexpected variable, the Gel-Dena Ring gave Eat Spicy Jokbal and Elizabeth a quick recovery. It was a ring made by Elizabeth herself.
“Bokja!”
“Uncle!”
Eat Spicy Jokbal and Elizabeth grabbed each other as they recovered from the abnormal state more quickly than Agnus did. They ran away from Agnus, who was isolated by the moving walls, and headed toward the dungeon’s exit. Elizabeth no longer insisted on keeping her workshop. The loss of throwing away her workshop was serious, but it was nothing compared to losing her uncle’s life. The two of them were confident they had escaped from Agnus, but it was an unproven confidence.
“Kik! Kikikik!” Agnus barely recovered from his confusion. Seeing Eat Spicy Jokbal and Elizabeth run away, Agnus shouted, “Demon Summoning!”
As the name, Baal’s Contractor, suggested, he was the contractor of the 1st great demon.
“Dyulebul.”
In fact, the true power of Baal’s Contractor was in summoning and controlling demons, rather than the summoning and control of the undead. However, this ability only emerged after his class was promoted to the legendary rating. The demon opened its mouth and shot out a ray, hitting Eat Spicy Jokbal and Elizabeth.
“Bokja!”
His niece was hurt, and Eat Spicy Jokbal’s clothes were turned into rags as he wrapped himself around her small body.
***
‘Does Youngwoo know?’
Yura wondered as she barely escaped from hell.
It was likely that the Grid NPC in hell had a close relationship with Grid, but she judged that Grid probably wasn’t even aware of the existence of the NPC. Otherwise, Grid would’ve told Yura in advance if he had known that his NPC was in hell. However, Yura hadn’t heard anything about it.
‘First, I should inform Youngwoo-ssi about this.’
She had no intention of asking for answers, but there was no reason not to tell Grid about how there was an NPC in hell that was exactly the same as Grid when he used Blackening.
‘Then I will rest for a few days.’
Yura’s fatigue was considerable after being stuck in hell for several months. One’s body could be restored through rest, but one’s spirit wouldn’t recover as easily. The barren landscapes and the harsh atmosphere of hell made her spirit desolate.
The biggest problem was that the Demon Slayer class didn’t shine despite her level reaching 320. Yura felt increasingly disappointed with her class which was unable to exert a satisfactory power, and her mental state kept falling. She felt shameful when she was compared to other legends.
‘In hell, I’m not lacking when I’m compared to the Sword Saint and Pagma’s Descendant, but…’
Hell wasn’t the only stage of the game. Yura couldn’t be locked in hell for the rest of her life. This made her feel that she was lacking in comparison to the other legendary classes which could be powerful anytime and anywhere.
‘Will it be different once I complete all my class quests? But I know that Youngwoo-ssi hasn’t finished his class quests yet… Perhaps I missed a hidden quest?’
Yura’s steps were heavy and her face was dark as she headed toward Reinhardt. Her undiminished beauty attracted the gazes of passersby, but this was an obstacle for Yura. She didn’t want to dazzle others with her outward appearance but to be recognized for her pure abilities. Then sh
e received a chance.
[A demon has emerged in the human world! It is a high-level demon dependent on dark and powerful magic.]
[The new skill Demon Tracking has been opened.]
[The fourth class quest ‘Old Enemy’ has been created.]
[Defeat Baal’s Contractor!]
“Gerad Mountain!”
Was this luck from the sky? The demon’s location was very close to where Yura was. Feeling joyful, she ran as fast as possible. Agnus was a figure comparable to Grid, but as a Demon Slayer, Yura knew that she was the counter to Agnus. She had a good chance of winning.
Simultaneously…
“Is this place right?”
“You have asked three times already. Rest assured. We will soon arrive safe and sound.”
“…”
“I apologize again for wasting your time. I’m really sorry.”
“…I would curse if you weren’t ashamed.”
“…”
Grid and Bullet were still wandering on the road. Unexpectedly, Grid wasn’t feeling particularly irritated. He could utilize the time by making underwear, and after talking to Bullet for a few hours, he felt that their relationship had become better.
Chapter 852
Chapter 852
[Dyulebul]
[Health: 100,001
Dyulebul was an ordinary hellfire lizard that lived in the hellfire river. One day, it was struck by the spit of 1st Great Demon Baal who was having a picnic and evolved into a higher demon.
* Dyulebul’s salivary glands are affected by Baal. Dyulebul will spit out a ray of light every 5 seconds.
* Dyulebul’s spit will deal 2,000 fixed damage to the target, as well as doing 8,000 splash damage in a radius of 10 meters around the attacked target.
* Dyulebul’s skin is less evolved. It will get 2,000 fixed damage when hit. It is true regardless of whether it is a weak or hard hit.
* Dyulebul’s tail will rotate without resting. The hellfire from the tail will inflict 3,000 fire damage to all enemies approaching Dyulebul. The enemy will receive 699 burn damage per second.]
Dyulebul’s appearance was that of a human body with a lizard head. Its long tail, which had a flame at the end, was spinning like a hula hoop.
“A demon…?” Eat Spicy Jokbal felt like he had been struck with a hammer. He had never dreamt that a day would come when a player could summon a demon. However, when he thought about it, this wasn’t that surprising. After all, Agnus was Baal’s Contractor! It was weird that Agnus had only been able to summon the undead when he contracted with the 1st great demon.
Dyulebul flew over Eat Spicy Jokbal’s and Elizabeth’s heads and then once again opened his mouth. A glaring light filled with a mighty magic power was gathered there. How many people would think that the identity of this was saliva? Agnus warned them, “Shouldn’t you stop resisting if you want to live? Kikik.”
Dyulebul was less useful than a death knight or lich. Its skill structure was so simple that it could only be used to kill the enemy. Additionally, its intelligence was so low that it was only faithful to the instinct of ‘killing humans’ and didn’t listen to commands properly.
However, it was strong enough to ignore all those shortcomings. It had a ranged attack which dealt 2,000 fixed damage and 8,000 splash damage, a flame that didn’t allow the enemy to get close, and above all, a powerful tanking force! The demon received 2,000 fixed damage per hit and had a health of 100,001. Therefore, Dyulebul would only die after being hit 51 times. It was meaningless for the opponent to use legendary-rated skills.
This was a disaster for players. It would naturally be helpless under a group attack but when dealing with a large number of enemies, Agnus could summon the undead to attract aggro.
“Avoid it!”
Flash! The dungeon started to collapse in the aftermath of the first ray of light. Witnessing the second ray emerge from Dyulebul, Eat Spicy Jokbal pushed Elizabeth away, letting himself be struck directly by it.
[You have suffered 20,000 damage!]
[You have suffered 8,000 damage!]
“Keok! Cough! Cough!” Eat Spicy Jokbal’s health fell to the bottom. He was unable to endure the shock and fell into despair. What was Agnus’ biggest advantage? It was his liches, yet the current Agnus hadn’t even summoned lich. Eat Spicy Jokbal felt that it was absurd.
Agnus’ rebirth as a legend was great enough to render the information that Eat Spicy Jokbal had collected as meaningless. He even wondered if all the information he had on Agnus was wrong.
‘Maybe I’m not stronger than Grid?’ A bitter smile appeared on Eat Spicy Jokbal’s face. It was funny because he had been using Grid as a criterion of strength without knowing it. ‘I thought he was a bad guy…’
Strangely, Eat Spicy Jokbal felt that Grid wasn’t a detestable guy. It seemed the experience they shared in the National Competition played a great role in this as he realized that he didn’t actually hate Grid. Then Dyulebul opened its mouth again.
“Uncle!” Elizabeth screamed as she witnessed the flash of light. She felt regretful. If she had only just listened to her uncle, he wouldn’t be suffering like he was now.
Did he read her expression?
“It isn’t your fault!” Eat Spicy Jokbal shouted while facing the flash of light. There was no resentment or anger in his eyes when he looked at his niece. Instead, his gaze was only full of affection. “The result would’ve been the same even if you listened to me and left! He would wait here forever! Did you forget our family’s saying? Don’t regret the past!”
Dyulebul fired the third flash.
“Come ooooon!” Tears filled Elizabeth’s eyes as she watched her uncle die. He was the uncle whom she had always thought of as Superman…! As her legs weakened and she fell down, Agnus’ cold voice was heard in her ears, “Give up and work on the Stone of Life. You have no choice but to listen to me.”
Why?
“If you don’t listen to me, you will die hundreds or thousands more times in the future. Do you want a life of hell?”
There was no smile on Agnus’ face. He was just serious and desperate. Agnus could finally resurrect ‘her’ based on the creation skill he got after becoming a legend, but in order to do so, the help of the Stone of Life was necessary. Resurrection—it was a word that would make anyone in the world laugh, but Agnus was sincere.
“…”
The atmosphere sank heavily. Eat Spicy Jokbal had been struck by a third ray and was believed to have been crushed to death by a pile of stones. Yet now Eat Spicy Jokbal roared loudly, “You shouldn’t ask for a favor with that attitude!!”
He jumped out from the pile of stones and rushed to Elizabeth.
“U-Uncle?” The tearful Elizabeth was perplexed, rather than pleased that her uncle was alive. Eat Spicy Jokbal smiled at her. “Isn’t Uncle invincible?”
[You won’t die easily in your dungeon. You can resist all attacks for 2 seconds with a minimum of health.]
[The dungeon escape skill ‘Emergency Exit’ has been activated.]
It was the Dungeon Maker’s special move! On the first day that he met Grid, Eat Spicy Jokbal had been able to survive thanks to this skill. At present, the moment Eat Spicy Jokbal was going to use the Emergency Exit skill…
“Baal’s Eyes.” Agnus used a skill as he noticed Eat Spicy Jokbal’s actions. He had been on many adventures and met countless people. After having faced a number of past crises, he managed to read Eat Spicy Jokbal’s suspicious actions and blocked the variable.
Duguen!
Agnus sensed the air around him darken, and a giant eyeball appeared. The eyeball’s pupil which changed between black, red, and yellow clearly wasn’t human. All the beings it observed—Dyulebul, Eat Spicy Jokbal, and Elizabeth—were unable to resist.
[A complete fear will stop your heart.]
[Your thoughts have come to a stop. You won’t be able to move for one second. You can’t use any skills and magic for 3 seconds.]
This w
as an ultimate technique of Baal’s Contractor which ignored all status resistance. It didn’t distinguish between friend or foe, so Agnus received the disadvantage of having all of his currently summoned undead and demons disabled. However, he was fine since he could summon new undead.
“Stop interfering!”
After stopping Eat Spicy Jokbal from using Emergency Exist, Agnus rushed toward him.
‘Shit!’ Eat Spicy Jokbal gulped, and his expression distorted as he realized there was no way to avoid death.
Suddenly, a beautiful woman appeared.
“I will punish you.”
Her pure white cloak fluttered, and her silky hair waved in the air. The woman’s name was Yura, and she contemplated evil with eyes that were as deep as a lake. This was the appearance of the strongest ranker who had carried South Korea alone until Grid’s appearance.
“Purification.”
Tatang! She fired a bullet at Agnus.
“Kuk…!” Agnus’ head shot back with a groan. He completely lost his momentum, and a quarter of his health gauge flew away instantly. The problem was that after Baal’s Contractor was upgraded to a legendary rating, his race had changed from human to half-demonkin. A Demon Slayer’s attack was now fatal to Agnus.
“Why…” He slowly raised his body and summoned skeletons, using them as a shield for Yura’s next bullet. “Why does the world interfere with me every time?”
“…”
“Huh? Kik! Kikikik!” Agnus laughed, burning with anger as he held his injured forehead. He was filled with killing intent while he watched the woman in front of him. Then a quest occurred.
[The second class quest of Baal’s Contractor has occurred.]
[Old Enemy]
[A Demon Slayer is the destroyer of hell. She regards you, the agent of Baal, as an enemy and will keep interfering with you.
For the sake of your future, kill the Demon Slayer!
Quest Clear Conditions: Kill the Demon Slayer.
Quest Reward: Species evolved from half-demonkin to demon. When you evolve into a demon, you can acquire new skills and magic as well as increase the number of demons you can contract with.
Quest Failure Condition: Killed by the Demon Slayer.